John Witte named Woodruff Professor at Emory

Prof. John Witte is one of the most prolific and important law-and-religion scholars now working, and he has been a wonderful friend and generous mentor to me and to many others.  This news, about his appointment to the very prestigious Woodruff Professorship (an honor he now shares with our own Michael Perry!), is wonderful.   From the press release:

John Witte Jr.—acclaimed teacher, prolific scholar and director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion—has been named Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law.

Witte, an internationally recognized legal historian and expert on Christian jurisprudence, marriage and family law, religious liberty and human rights, came to Emory in 1985. He has spent the past 29 years breaking ground in the field of law and religion, while remaining committed to his first calling as a teacher. 

“The Woodruff professors are more than teachers and scholars of distinction; they serve a broad constituency that transcends individual departments and programs,” says Provost Claire Sterk. “As a leading authority on law and religion with an impressive body of scholarship, Professor Witte has earned a place among Emory’s most distinguished faculty.”

Witte has taught more than 5,500 students in courses such as criminal law, constitutional law, legal history, marriage and family law, religious liberty, human rights, and law and religion. Emory Law students have elected him Most Outstanding Professor 12 times. The Black Law Students Association has also elected him Most Outstanding Professor. More than 100 students have published books and articles under his supervision.

Emory University has recognized his teaching with two Crystal Apple Awards, the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award, the Distinguished Faculty Lecture Award and the University Scholar Teacher Award, which was matched by a national award from the United Methodist Church Board of Higher Education.

Witte has delivered more than 350 public lectures around the world and is a regular keynote speaker at academic conferences. He has published 220 articles, 15 journal symposia and 27 monographs and anthologies, with five monographs under contract.

“Professor Witte’s writings and lectures have put him at the forefront of law and religion scholars around the world,” says Dean Robert A. Schapiro. “His work is known and praised by scholars of law, theology, philosophy, ethics, politics and history alike.” . . .